CHELSEA BALLET - Key Persons
Thelma was born in the South of France and brought up on the West coast of Scotland. She started to dance at the age of seven, learning ballet, tap, acrobatics and stagecraft. By the age of 11 she had passed her RAD Intermediate and at the age of 12 was accepted to Sadler's Wells School (now the Royal Ballet School).
At 15, Thelma became a student at the Rambert School and during her first year danced several times with the company. In 1951, she made her television debut and also performed at the Old Vic for charity midnight matinees.
Thelma joined Ballet Rambert when she was 16 and performed with the company for the next ten years. During this time she toured widely throughout the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands. She toured Lebanon as well as many countries in Europe and America and was one the first western dancers to visit China after the Second World War. She took part in a Royal Command Performance at the Middle Temple Hall in the presence of the Queen Mother.